ABOUT
Loren Wells is a music lawyer with a focus on representation of talent, having represented clients with combined album and single sales of nearly 50 million, including Grammy award-winning legacy acts, contemporary Gold and Platinum-certified artists and songwriters, numerous Billboard-charting and critically-acclaimed up-and-comers, and two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers.
An internationally-recognized expert on the music business, Loren has been included on Billboard's "Top Music Lawyers" list and Variety's "Music Legal Elite," and serves as a lecturer in the Music Business program at Columbia College Chicago. Loren's perspectives on the industry are regularly covered in prominent industry publications, and his textbook chapter, "Independent Record Labels and Record Deals," was included in The Musician's Legal and Business Guide (5th edition), a leading music industry resource for over 35 years, published worldwide by Routledge. Prior to practicing law, Loren founded the world's largest database of music industry-related lawsuits, "The Discography: Legal Encyclopedia of Popular Music," developed in conjunction with Washington University's Center for Empirical Research in the Law.
PANELS
The New Independent Paradigm: Building the Perfect Team
The definition of independence has evolved. Today, building a successful independent career requires more than creative control – it takes the right infrastructure and strategy behind the scenes. From publishing administration and distribution to management, legal, marketing and technology, this conversation explores how executives, artists and their teams can build the right partnerships, determine when and where to invest in additional support, and create an infrastructure that can scale. Industry leaders discuss what it takes to compete at the highest level while protecting ownership and independence.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 4:30 PM